Mail chute



Dec. 4, 1934. 1 w; CUTLER 1,983,071

' MAIL CHUTE Filed Oct. 15, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheei 1 J. W. CUTLER Dec. 4, 1934.

MAIL GHUTE Filed 001;. 13, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mm En. k 6/ Dec. 4, 1934. J. w. CUTLER 1,983,071

MAIL CHUTE Fi led Oct. 13, 1932 s Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VENT OR 35 J05 75%?? uiz 1 425s Arrows Patented Dec. 4, 1934 PAT E NT OFFICE 7, IMAIL CHUTE' 7 Joseph Warren Cutler, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to Cutler Mail Chute 00., Rochester, N. Y., a

corporation ofNew York Application October 13, 1932, Serial No. 637,606

3 Claims. (c1. 232- Mypre'sent invention relates to mailchutes and 5 :ror themail receiving openings that will be strong and positive in its action. A further object of the invention is to provide a closure of this nature that will be particularly adapted for use in a letter drop in conjunction-with an automatic :trash separating mechanism or" the general character set forth in the pending application of Stanley 7v. V'an-Riper, Serial No. 607,771, filed April 27, 1932, entitled Mailchutes, issued on May 9, 1933, as Patent No.l,907,906,' and owned by ourgcommon assignee. I

To these and other ends, the invention resides in, certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as willrbe hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings: 1 l

Fig.1 is a front. elevation of a" mail chute section,7showing the mail receiving opening which is fitted with. a closure, constructed in accordance withvand illustratingone embodiment of my indrop casing and adjacent parts with the ele-- ments in the positions of Fig. 2;- 7 ,lFig-r 6 is a duplication of Fig. 5 but with the closure in ftheloperative position of Fig. 3;

Prlig Tisan enlarged fragmentary detail front 7 Similar reference numerals throughout the several viewsindicate the same parts. 7

Mail chutes of the type to which my invention is applicable are familiar to most everyone, being used in office and other tall buildings to conduct mail deposited at the various floors by gravity" to a collecting receptacle below. A single floor unit or sectionof such a chute, as shown in Fig. 1, embodies generally a floor base 1 carrying the chute proper2 on a suitable. backing 3 and surmounted by a ceiling molding 4. Removable panels'5 and 6 closing the front are held against access to the chute therethrough by unauthorized persons by a locking bar 7. The panels being of framed glass, a casing 8 is arra'ngedat a convenient height in the lower one in which is formed the letter drop or mailing aperture 9.

The casing 8 is preferably a metalcasting pros jecting forwardly slightly from the panel so that the mail receiving opening 9' may be formed in its top wall; The panel molding or frame 2 that fits the front of the chute 3 supports this casing in the same manner that it does the glass 6 by embracing lat'eralextensions 10 thereon that fit within the molding at each side; while at the bottom the casing rests upon the glass 6, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. l 7 l 7 7 It frequently becomes necessaryor desirable for various reasons to close the mailing aperture 9 andlock it against the deposit of mail temporarily, as when, for instance, a portion of 7 the chute on a lower floor is under repair, is being cleaned or has been clogged with mail matter that must be dislodged. My invention concerns a closure for this purpose with which each letter drop 8 may be equipped that is simple and yet strong enough to resist attempts to dislodge or injure it. 7

Referring again more particularly to the drawings, 11 indicates a sheet metal plate secured at 12 to the rear side of the casing 8 and having an upper breast strap 13 in the form of a yoke bent forwardly therefrom to engage the front wall ofithecasing. Near its lower edge, the central portion thereof is bent forwardly at an inclination as at 14 to constitute a deflector for guiding mail matter from the casing 8 into the body 2 of the chute proper along the passage thus formed and indicated generally at 15 in Figs. 5 and 6. Struck out from the material of the plate at 14 is a lug 16 that takes a firm bearing as a spacing means against the front wall of the casing also, while the yoke 13 or, rather, the front strap thereof has secured to its rear side sheet metal angles 17 formed with teeth 18 to prevent the introduce tion into passage 15 from opening 9 of bulky pieces of matter larger than the chute is intended to accommodate. The plate 11 is open between the forwardly extending portions 13 and 14 thereof which provides a passage 19 between the latter and the front wall of the casing leading to a delivery aperture 20 at the bottom thereof.

The purpose of the passage and opening just described is to intercept, divert and discharge to the exterior. of the chute small articles of trash, such as cigarette butts, dropped into the mailing opening by careless or mischievous persons. The deflection from the passageway 15 is accomplished by a forwardly curved transverse gravitational plate 21 which, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, normally hangs in such a position as to block passage 15 and cause such small objects to take the forward course and fall out at 20. It is pivoted at 22 by forwardly turned end ears 23 thereon to the cheeks of the yoke 13 and can swing rearwardly when; displaced by the superior force or weight of the larger intended articles of mail thrust through the passage 15 to the chute proper, all as fully disclosed in the Van Riper application, before referred to.

In the practice of my present invention, I provide above the deflector 21 and within the casing 8 just below the mailing aperture 9 a closure 24 therefor movable from the normal inoperative position of Fig. 5 to the operative position of Fig. 6. It consists, in the present instance, of a transverse plate having a rearwardly turned flange at its upper end constituting a sealing portion greater than the. width of aperture 9 and carrying a plate 25 upon which appears the word Closed viewable through the aperture 9 when in operative position, as shown in Fig. 3. At its lower edge, this closure plate is also pivoted at 26 tothe checks of the yoke 13 adjacent to a back plate 27 that bridges the casing 8 above plate 11 and is secured thereto at 28, which back plate shields the aforesaid mechanism from the interior of the main chute. When the closure is in the forward position of Fig. 6, it will be observed that the sealing portion 25 is forwardly beyond the center 26 and stopped and braced against the front wall of the casing. It is thus secured against efforts to force any material or implement through opening 9 and dislodge it, it being observed that such force would be exerted in the direction of its axis, or substantially so, on a dead center with respect to the pivot 26. In other words, such a force as resisted by the pivot would not operate with any mechanical advantage against the same. In its inoperative position, the closure forms a part of the rear wall of the mail passage 15 and the portion initially engaged by a deposited piece of mail matter so that it acts as a letter shed for the deflector 21 in preventing letters from lodging against the upper edge thereof.

Means accessible only to authorized persons permitted to remove the panels and reach the interior of the chute are provided for actuating the closure between its operative and inoperative positions. This means embodies, in the present instances, an operating lever 29 pivoted at 30 on the front side and near the lower edge of the back or bridge plate 2'7. Its lower end is thus accessible to the fingers while its upper end is forked, as indicated at 31. On the rear face of the closure plate 24 and the front face of the back plate 2'7 are secured two bracket plates 32 and 33, respectively, which are provided withinclined slots 34 at reversed complementary angles to each other. The tines of the fork 31 of the operating arm respectively engage these slots so that it will be seen, particularly by reference to Figs. 11 and 12, that as the lever is vibrated between the dotted line positions of Fig. 4 it will spread the plates or draw them together, and, correspondingly, draw the closure 24 toward the fixed plate 27 uncovering opening 9 or spread the plates and thrust the closure forwardly into operative position. To allow it to conform to such movement, the operating lever 29 is sufficiently loose on its pivot 30 to permit it to tilt in the plane of its axis. Notches in the plates 32 and 33 at the ends of the slots 34 and indicated at 35 permit the tines of the fork 31 to spring in to a yielding locking engagement that maintains the closure plate in its rearward inoperative position against the back plate. In general, this operating mechanism, as is apparent from the leverages present therein, tends to lock the closure in any position to which it is moved against manipulation from its accessible upper end.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a mail chute having a mail receiving aperture leading to the interior of the chute and opening upwardly, of a closure for the aperture pivoted within the chute on a horizontal axis lying below the aperture, said closure having an open position in rear of the aperture and a closed position in which the sealing portion thereof lies forwardly across the center of such axis, and a cam mechanism within the chute for actuating the closure between such positions embodying a cam on the closure and a fixed cam on the chute and an operating lever cooperating with both cams.

2. The combination with a mail chute embodying a forwardly projecting casing attached thereto having a mail receiving aperture in its top and a bridge plate extending across its back, of a closure for the aperture pivoted within the casing on a horizontal axis lying below the aperture, said closure having an open position in rear of the aperture and a closed position in which the sealing portion thereof lies forwardly across the center of such axis, a rearward projection on the closure and a forward projection on the bridge plate provided with complementary cams, and an operating lever pivoted on the bridge plate and cooperating with both cams to actuate the closure between said positions.

3. The combination with a mail chute embodying a forwardly projecting casing attached thereto having a mail receiving aperture in its top, a passage leading therefrom to the interior of the chute, a delivery aperture in its bottom adapted to discharge exteriorly of the chute, and a bridge plate extending across its back, there being communication between said passage and the discharge aperture, of a gravitationally operated deflecting element in the passage pivoted to the back plate and acting normally to direct light objects deposited in the mailing aperture to the delivery aperture but adapted to be displaced by mail matter so deposited and permit its passage to the chute, a closure for the mail receiving aperture arranged above the upper edge of deflecting element to constitute a letter shed therefor when in open position, said closure being pivoted within the casing to turn on a horizontal axis below the said aperture, and means mounted on the bridge plate for actuating the closure between open and closed positions.

JOSEPPI WARREN CUTLER. 

